23 After spending some time in Antioch,
Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia, visiting and strengthening all the
believers.
24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an
eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from
Alexandria in Egypt.
25 He had been taught the way of the Lord,
and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy.
However, he knew only about John’s baptism.
26 When Priscilla and Aquila heard him
preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of
God even more accurately.
27 Apollos had been thinking about going to
Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go. They
wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived
there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had
believed.
28 He refuted the Jews with powerful
arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them that
Jesus was the Messiah.
ACTS 19 NLT
1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul
traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where
he found several believers.
2“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you
believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there
is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then what baptism did you experience?”
he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for
repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who
would come later, meaning Jesus.”
5 As soon as they heard this, they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and
prophesied.
7 There were about twelve men in
all.
8 Then Paul went to the synagogue and
preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the
Kingdom of God.
9 But some became stubborn, rejecting his
message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and
took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall
of Tyrannus.
10This went on for the next two years, so that
people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of
the Lord.
11 God gave Paul the power to perform
unusual miracles.
12 When handkerchiefs or aprons that had
merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their
diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.
13 A group of Jews was traveling from town
to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus
in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul
preaches, to come out!”
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest,
were doing this.
15 But one time when they tried it, the
evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped
on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled
from the house, naked and battered.
17 The story of what happened spread
quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended
on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.
18 Many who became believers confessed
their sinful practices.
19 A number of them who had been practicing
sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire.
The value of the books was several million dollars.
20 So the message about the Lord spread
widely and had a powerful effect.
21 Afterward Paul felt compelled by the
Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after
that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”
22 He sent his two assistants, Timothy and
Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of
Asia.
23 About that time, serious trouble
developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.
24 It began with Demetrius, a silversmith
who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess
Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.
25 He called them together, along with
others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen,
you know that our wealth comes from this business.
26 But as you have seen and heard, this man
Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all.
And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire
province!
27 Of course, I’m not just talking about
the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple
of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this
magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the
world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”
28 At this their anger boiled, and they
began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29 Soon the whole city was filled with
confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus,
who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
30 Paul wanted to go in, too, but the
believers wouldn’t let him.
31 Some of the officials of the province,
friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life
by entering the amphitheater.
32 Inside, the people were all shouting,
some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of
them didn’t even know why they were there.
33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander
forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and
tried to speak.
34 But when the crowd realized he was a
Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is
Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 At last the mayor was able to quiet them
down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that
Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose
image fell down to us from heaven.
36 Since this is an undeniable fact, you
should stay calm and not do anything rash.
37 You have brought these men here, but
they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our
goddess.
38 “If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a
case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the
case at once. Let them make formal charges.
39 And if there are complaints about other
matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.
40 I am afraid we are in danger of being
charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all
this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to
say.”
41 Then he dismissed them, and they
dispersed.
ACTS 20 NLT
1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for
the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for
Macedonia.
2 While there, he encouraged the believers
in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,
3 where he stayed for three months. He was
preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against
his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.
4 Several men were traveling with him.
They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from
Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the
province of Asia.
5 They went on ahead and waited for us at
Troas.
6 After the Passover ended, we boarded a
ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where
we stayed a week.
7 On the first day of the week, we
gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was
preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until
midnight.
8 The upstairs room where we met was
lighted with many flickering lamps.
9 As Paul spoke on and on, a young man
named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell
sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.
10 Paul went down, bent over him, and took
him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!”
11 Then they all went back upstairs, shared
in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until
dawn, and then he left.
12 Meanwhile, the young man was taken home
alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.
13 Paul went by land to Assos, where he had
arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship.
14 He joined us there, and we sailed
together to Mitylene.
15 The next day we sailed past the island
of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later
we arrived at Miletus.
16Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for
he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying
to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost.
17 But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a
message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet
him.
18 When they arrived he declared, “You know
that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now
19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and
with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of
the Jews.
20 I never shrank back from telling you
what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.
21 I have had one message for Jews and
Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of
having faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go
to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me,
23except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city
after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.
24 But my life is worth nothing to me
unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work
of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
25 “And now I know that none of you to whom
I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again.
26 I declare today that I have been
faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault,
27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring all
that God wants you to know.
28 “So guard yourselves and God’s people.
Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood —over
which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders.
29 I know that false teachers, like vicious
wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.
30 Even some men from your own group will
rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.
31 Watch out! Remember the three years I
was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many
tears for you.
32 “And now I entrust you to God and the
message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance
with all those he has set apart for himself.
33 “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or
gold or fine clothes.
34You know that these hands of mine have worked
to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me.
35 And I have been a constant example of
how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words
of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt
and prayed with them.
37 They all cried as they embraced and
kissed him good-bye.
38 They were sad most of all because he had
said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the
ship.
ACTS 21 NLT
1 After saying farewell to the Ephesian
elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes
and then went to Patara.
2 There we boarded a ship sailing for
Phoenicia.
3 We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed
it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was
to unload its cargo.
4 We went ashore, found the local
believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the
Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.
5 When we returned to the ship at the end
of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the
city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed,
6and said our farewells. Then we went aboard,
and they returned home.
7 The next stop after leaving Tyre was
Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one
day.
8 The next day we went on to Caesarea and
stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been
chosen to distribute food.
9 He had four unmarried daughters who had
the gift of prophecy.
10 Several days later a man named Agabus,
who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea.
11 He came over, took Paul’s belt, and
bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares,
‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem
and turned over to the Gentiles.’”
12 When we heard this, we and the local
believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
13 But he said, “Why all this weeping? You
are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even
to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”
14When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade
him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15 After this we packed our things and left
for Jerusalem.
16 Some believers from Caesarea accompanied
us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and
one of the early believers.
